丫头 yātou girl
girl; servant girl; used deprecatingly, but sometimes also as a term of endearment
How to remember 丫头: 丫 forked + 头 head = girl.
Characters
How it is used
- A girl - can be affectionate ('lass, kiddo') or, historically, a servant girl - 傻丫头 (shǎ yātou) silly girl (fondly).
- Tone depends fully on context: a doting elder to a young girl vs. a dismissive label.
- Note the neutral-tone reading yātou; the 丫 pictures a girl's forked hairstyle.